Methods and systems for building custom appliances in a cloud-based network

ABSTRACT

A cloud management system can track the usage of the virtual machines in order to determine the fees associated with the user&#39;s subscription to the cloud computing environment. The usage can include the resources consumed to support the virtual machines and can include the utilization of the virtual machines by the user or third parties. The cloud management system can determine the fees charged to the user for utilizing the cloud computing environment based on the tracked usage.

FIELD

This invention relates generally to products and services, more particularly, to systems and methods for cloud computing related services and products.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

The advent of cloud-based computing architectures has opened new possibilities for the rapid and scalable deployment of virtual Web stores, media outlets, and other on-line sites or services. In general, a cloud-based architecture deploys a set of hosted resources such as processors, operating systems, software and other components that can be combined or strung together to form virtual machines. A user or customer can request the instantiation of a virtual machine or set of machines from those resources from a central server or management system to perform intended tasks or applications. For example, a user may wish to set up and instantiate a virtual server from the cloud to create a storefront to market products or services on a temporary basis, for instance, to sell tickets to an upcoming sports or musical performance. The user can lease or subscribe to the set of resources needed to build and run the set of instantiated virtual machines on a comparatively short-term basis, such as hours or days, for their intended application.

When a user subscribes to a cloud, the user typically provides the software that to be executed by the virtual machines or utilizes pre-configured software available in the cloud. As such, the user must seperately acquire and purchase their own software to be executed by the virtual machines or be limited to the pre-configured software. Thus, there is a need in the art for methods and system that allow a user to customize, on-demand, a software solution in a cloud.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various features of the embodiments can be more fully appreciated, as the same become better understood with reference to the following detailed description of the embodiments when considered in connection with the accompanying figures, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an overall cloud system architecture in which various embodiments of the present teachings can be practiced;

FIG. 2 illustrates an overall cloud system architecture in which various embodiments of the present teachings can be practiced in another regard including multiple cloud arrangements, according to various embodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates a network configuration in which a cloud management system can build custom appliances, according to various embodiments;

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary hardware configuration for a cloud management system, according to various embodiments; and

FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart for custom appliance building in a cloud computing environment, according to various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

For simplicity and illustrative purposes, the principles of the present invention are described by referring mainly to exemplary embodiments thereof However, one of ordinary skill in the art would readily recognize that the same principles are equally applicable to, and can be implemented in, all types of information and service portals, and that any such variations do not depart from the true spirit and scope of the present invention. Moreover, in the following detailed description, references are made to the accompanying figures, which illustrate specific embodiments. Electrical, mechanical, logical and structural changes may be made to the embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense and the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Embodiments of the present teachings relate to systems and methods for providing custom appliances. More particularly, embodiments relate to platforms and techniques in which a cloud management system can enable a user to build, on-demand, a custom appliance from a repository software modules located in a cloud computing environment.

According to embodiments, in general, a user can request to build a custom appliance to be instantiated in a cloud computing environment. To provide the building service, the cloud management system can be configured to maintain a repository of software modules, which can be used to create the appliance. In response to the request, the cloud management system can be configured to provide a list of the available software modules to the user. The user can select the desired software modules and send the selection of software modules to the cloud management system. The user can also send configuration information to the cloud management system.

Once received, the cloud management system can build the custom appliance based on the user's request. The cloud management system can retrieve the selected software modules according to the request and construct the software modules according to the request. Once constructed, the cloud management system can be configured to instantiate the custom appliance in the cloud.

The cloud management system can also be configured to determine and bill the user for charges associated with building and instantiating the custom appliance. The charge can include a fee for building the appliance based on each software module included in the appliance. Likewise, the charge for building the appliance can be based on the instantiation of the custom appliance in the cloud computing environment, such as utilization of the custom appliance. To determine the charge, the cloud management system can maintain a list of rates for the software modules and instantiation of the custom appliance.

By providing the option of building an appliance, the user can construct a custom appliance, on-demand, without acquiring the software separately. Additionally, the cost to the user can be reduced by charging only for the cost of the appliance, as a whole, instantiated in the cloud and not for each individual component.

FIG. 1 illustrates an overall cloud computing environment, in systems and methods for the management of subscriptions of cloud-based virtual machines can operate, according to embodiments of the present teachings. Embodiments described herein can be implemented in or supported by a cloud network architecture. As used herein, a “cloud” can comprise a collection of resources that can be invoked to instantiate a virtual machine, process, or other resource for a limited or defined duration. As shown for example in FIG. 1, the collection of resources supporting a cloud 102 can comprise a set of resource servers 108 configured to deliver computing components needed to instantiate a virtual machine, process, or other resource. For example, one group of resource servers can host and serve an operating system or components thereof to deliver to and instantiate a virtual machine. Another group of resource servers can accept requests to host computing cycles or processor time, to supply a defined level of processing power for a virtual machine. A further group of resource servers can host and serve applications to load on an instantiation of a virtual machine, such as an email client, a browser application, a messaging application, or other applications or software. Other types of resource servers are possible.

In embodiments, the entire set of resource servers 108 or other hardware or software resources used to support the cloud 102 along with its instantiated virtual machines is managed by a cloud management system 104. The cloud management system 104 can comprise a dedicated or centralized server and/or other software, hardware, and network tools that communicate via one or more networks 106 such as the Internet or other public or private network with all sets of resource servers to manage the cloud 102 and its operation. To instantiate a new set of virtual machines, a user can transmit an instantiation request to the cloud management system 104 for the particular type of virtual machine they wish to invoke for their intended application. A user can for instance make a request to instantiate a set of virtual machines configured for email, messaging or other applications from the cloud 102. The request can be received and processed by the cloud management system 104, which identifies the type of virtual machine, process, or other resource being requested. The cloud management system 104 can then identify the collection of resources necessary to instantiate that machine or resource. In embodiments, the set of instantiated virtual machines or other resources can for example comprise virtual transaction servers used to support Web storefronts, or other transaction sites.

In embodiments, the user's instantiation request can specify a variety of parameters defining the operation of the set of virtual machines to be invoked. The instantiation request, for example, can specify a defined period of time for which the instantiated machine or process is needed. The period of time can be, for example, an hour, a day, or other increment of time. In embodiments, the user's instantiation request can specify the instantiation of a set of virtual machines or processes on a task basis, rather than for a predetermined amount of time. For instance, a user could request resources until a software update is completed. The user's instantiation request can specify other parameters that define the configuration and operation of the set of virtual machines or other instantiated resources. For example, the request can specify an amount of processing power or input/output (I/O) throughput the user wishes to be available to each instance of the virtual machine or other resource. In embodiments, the requesting user can for instance specify a service level agreement (SLA) acceptable for their application. Other parameters and settings can be used. One skilled in the art will realize that the user's request can likewise include combinations of the foregoing exemplary parameters, and others.

When the request to instantiate a set of virtual machines or other resources has been received and the necessary resources to build that machine or resource have been identified, the cloud management system 104 can communicate with one or more set of resource servers 108 to locate resources to supply the required components. The cloud management system 104 can select providers from the diverse set of resource servers 108 to assemble the various components needed to build the requested set of virtual machines or other resources. It may be noted that in some embodiments, permanent storage such as hard disk arrays may not be included or located within the set of resource servers 108 available to the cloud management system 104, since the set of instantiated virtual machines or other resources may be intended to operate on a purely transient or temporary basis. In embodiments, other hardware, software or other resources not strictly located or hosted in the cloud can be leveraged as needed. For example, other software services that are provided outside of the cloud 102 and hosted by third parties can be invoked by in-cloud virtual machines. For further example, other non-cloud hardware and/or storage services can be utilized as an extension to the cloud 102, either on an on-demand or subscribed or decided basis.

With the resource requirements identified, the cloud management system 104 can extract and build the set of virtual machines or other resources on a dynamic or on-demand basis. For example, one set of resource servers 108 can respond to an instantiation request for a given quantity of processor cycles with an offer to deliver that computational power immediately and guaranteed for the next hour. A further set of resource servers 108 can offer to immediately supply communication bandwidth, for example on a guaranteed minimum or best-efforts basis. In other embodiments, the set of virtual machines or other resources can be built on a batch basis or at a particular future time. For example, a set of resource servers 108 can respond to a request for instantiation at a programmed time with an offer to deliver the specified quantity of processor cycles within a specific amount of time, such as the next 12 hours.

The cloud management system 104 can select group of servers in the set of resource servers 108 that match or best match the instantiation request for each component needed to build the virtual machine or other resource. The cloud management system 104 can then coordinate the integration of the completed group of servers from the set of resource servers 108, to build and launch the requested set of virtual machines or other resources. The cloud management system 104 can track the combined group of servers selected from the set of resource servers 108, or other distributed resources that are dynamically or temporarily combined, to produce and manage the requested virtual machine population or other resources.

In embodiments, the cloud management system 104 can generate a resource aggregation table that identifies the various sets of resource servers that will be used to supply the components of the virtual machine or process. The sets of resource servers can be identified by unique identifiers such as, for instance, Internet Protocol (IP) addresses or other addresses. The cloud management system 104 can register the finalized group of servers in the set resource servers 108 contributing to an instantiated machine or process.

The cloud management system 104 can then set up and launch the initiation process for the virtual machines, processes, or other resources to be delivered from the cloud. The cloud management system 104 can for instance transmit an instantiation command or instruction to the registered group of servers in set of resource servers 108. The cloud management system 104 can receive a confirmation message back from each participating server in set of resource servers 108 indicating a status regarding the provisioning of their respective resources. Various sets of resource servers can confirm, for example, the availability of a dedicated amount of processor cycles, amounts of electronic memory, communications bandwidth, or applications or other software prepared to be served.

As shown for example in FIG. 2, the cloud management system 104 can then instantiate one or more than one set of virtual machines 116, or other processes based on the resources supplied by the registered set of resource servers 108. In embodiments, the cloud management system 104 can instantiate a given number, for example, 10, 500, 1000, or other numbers of virtual machines to be made available to users on a network 114, such as the Internet or other public or private network. Each virtual machine can be assigned an instantiated machine ID that can be stored in the resource aggregation table, or other record or image of the instantiated population. Additionally, the cloud management system 104 can store the duration of each virtual machine and the collection of resources utilized by the complete set of instantiated virtual machines 116.

In embodiments, the cloud management system 104 can further store, track and manage a user's identity and associated set of rights or entitlements to software, hardware, and other resources. Each user that populates a set of virtual machines in the cloud can have specific rights and resources assigned and made available to them. The cloud management system 104 can track and configure specific actions that a user can perform, such as provision a set of virtual machines with software applications or other resources, configure a set of virtual machines to desired specifications, submit jobs to the set of virtual machines or other host, manage other users of the set of instantiated virtual machines 116 or other resources, and other privileges or actions. The cloud management system 104 can further generate records of the usage of instantiated virtual machines to permit tracking, billing, and auditing of the services consumed by the user. In embodiments, the cloud management system 104 can for example meter the usage and/or duration of the set of instantiated virtual machines 116, to generate subscription billing records for a user that has launched those machines. Other billing or value arrangements are possible.

The cloud management system 104 can configure each virtual machine to be made available to users of the one or more networks 106 via a browser interface, or other interface or mechanism. Each instantiated virtual machine can communicate with the cloud management system 104 and the underlying registered set of resource servers 108 via a standard Web application programming interface (API), or via other calls or interfaces. The set of instantiated virtual machines 116 can likewise communicate with each other, as well as other sites, servers, locations, and resources available via the Internet or other public or private networks, whether within a given cloud 102 or between clouds.

It may be noted that while a browser interface or other front-end can be used to view and operate the set of instantiated virtual machines 116 from a client or terminal, the processing, memory, communications, storage, and other hardware as well as software resources required to be combined to build the virtual machines or other resources are all hosted remotely in the cloud 102. In embodiments, the set of virtual machines 116 or other resources may not depend on or require the user's own on-premise hardware or other resources. In embodiments, a user can therefore request and instantiate a set of virtual machines or other resources on a purely off-premise basis, for instance to build and launch a virtual storefront or other application.

Because the cloud management system 104 in one regard specifies, builds, operates and manages the set of instantiated virtual machines 116 on a logical level, the user can request and receive different sets of virtual machines and other resources on a real-time or near real-time basis, without a need to specify or install any particular hardware. The user's set of instantiated virtual machines 116, processes, or other resources can be scaled up or down immediately or virtually immediately on an on-demand basis, if desired. In embodiments, the various sets of resource servers that are accessed by the cloud management system 104 to support a set of instantiated virtual machines 116 or processes can change or be substituted, over time. The type and operating characteristics of the set of instantiated virtual machines 116 can nevertheless remain constant or virtually constant, since instances are assembled from abstracted resources that can be selected and maintained from diverse sources based on uniform specifications.

In terms of network management of the set of instantiated virtual machines 116 that have been successfully configured and instantiated, the cloud management system 104 can perform various network management tasks including security, maintenance, and metering for billing or subscription purposes. The cloud management system 104 of a given cloud 102 can, for example, install or terminate applications or appliances on individual machines. The cloud management system 104 can monitor operating virtual machines to detect any virus or other rogue process on individual machines, and for instance terminate the infected application or virtual machine. The cloud management system 104 can likewise manage an entire set of instantiated virtual machines 116 or other resources on a collective basis, for instance, to push or delivery a software upgrade to all active virtual machines. Other management processes are possible.

In embodiments, more than one set of virtual machines can be instantiated in a given cloud at the same, overlapping or successive times. The cloud management system 104 can, in such implementations, build, launch and manage multiple sets of virtual machines based on the same or different underlying set of resource servers 108, with populations of different sets of instantiated virtual machines 116 such as may be requested by different users. The cloud management system 104 can institute and enforce security protocols in a cloud 102 hosting multiple sets of virtual machines. Each of the individual sets of virtual machines can be hosted in a respective partition or sub-cloud of the resources of the cloud 102. The cloud management system 104 of a cloud can for example deploy services specific to isolated or defined sub-clouds, or isolate individual workloads/processes within the cloud to a specific sub-cloud. The subdivision of the cloud 102 into distinct transient sub-clouds or other sub-components which have assured security and isolation features can assist in establishing a multiple user or multi-tenant cloud arrangement. In a multiple user scenario, each of the multiple users can use the cloud platform as a common utility while retaining the assurance that their information is secure from other users of the overall cloud system. In further embodiments, sub-clouds can nevertheless be configured to share resources, if desired.

In embodiments, and as also shown in FIG. 2, the set of instantiated virtual machines 116 generated in a first cloud 102 can also interact with a set of instantiated virtual machines or processes generated in a second, third or her cloud 102. The cloud management system 104 of a first cloud 102 can interface with the cloud management system 104 of a second cloud 102, to coordinate those domains and operate the clouds and/or virtual machines or processes on a combined basis. The cloud management system. 104 of a given cloud 102 can track and manage individual virtual machines or other resources instantiated in that cloud, as well as the set of instantiated virtual machines or other resources in other clouds.

In the foregoing and other embodiments, the user making an instantiation request or otherwise accessing or utilizing the cloud network can be a person, customer, subscriber, administrator, corporation, organization, or other entity. In embodiments, the user can be or include another virtual machine, application or process. In further embodiments, multiple users or entities can share the use of a set of virtual machines or other resources.

FIG. 3 illustrates aspects of a cloud management system 104 and its management of virtual machines 116 of a cloud 102, according to various embodiments. In embodiments as shown, the cloud management system 104 can comprise a management engine 118 containing control logic for performing the processes of cloud management and a cloud management store 120. In embodiments as shown, the cloud management system 104 can be configured to build custom appliances according to a user 112 specifications.

In embodiments, the cloud management system 104 can be configured to maintain a repository of software modules. For example, the management engine 118 can be configured to maintain the repository in cloud management store 120. The software modules can be any type of software capable of executing on a computing platform. For example, the software modules can include operating systems and applications.

In embodiments, to allow users to build custom appliances, the cloud management system 104 can be configured to communicate with the user 112 in order to allow the user 112 to select software modules to be included in the custom appliance. The cloud management system 104 can be configured to communicate with the user 112 via an interface 114 to allow the user to request and provide specifications for the custom appliance. The interface 114 can be any type of interface to allow the user to communicate information to the cloud management system 104. For example, the interface 114 can be a specific graphical, command-line, or other interface generated by a program or application designed to communicate with the cloud management system 104. Likewise, the interface 114 can be an interface generated in conventional formats, such as .html, capable of being executed in network programs and applications, such as a web browser.

To select and configure the custom appliance, the management engine 118 can provide a list of available software modules, and the interface 114 can be configured to display the list. As such, the user 112 can select the software modules to be included in the custom appliance. For example, if the user desires to request a Web storefront, the user 112 can select an operating system and web site hosting application. In addition to selecting the software modules to include, the user 112 can specify configuration information for the custom appliance. The configuration information can be settings for the appliance that define how the custom appliance will function. For example, if the user requests an e-mail server, the user can specify the domain name of the server and email addresses associated with the server.

In addition, the cloud management system 104 can collect information from the user 112 in order to track the user's custom appliance. The cloud management system 104 can collect information such as identity, payment and billing information via interface 114.

Once the cloud management system 104 receives the specifications and configuration information for the custom appliance, the cloud management system 104 can be configured to build the custom appliance according to the user's specification. To build the custom appliance, the management engine 118 can retrieve the selected software modules from cloud management store 120. Once retrieved, the management engine 118 can combine the software modules and apply the user 112 configuration information in order to build the appliance. An appliance comprise one or more software modules combined with a “minimum amount of an operating system” (MiniOS) to allow the software modules to run on virtual machines executing in cloud 102. An appliance can be any type of software appliance such as those described in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/040,831 filed Feb. 29, 2008, entitled “METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR DYNAMICALLY BUILDING A SOFTWARE APPLIANCE”, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.

Once built, the cloud management system 104 can instantiate the custom appliance in the virtual machines 116 or create a new set of virtual machines to support the custom appliance. The virtual machines 116 can be or include, for instance, a set of virtual servers that can support custom appliance.

As part of the process of building the custom appliance, the cloud management system 104 embed a management ID into each custom appliance. The management ID can be, for instance, a file, certificate, cookie, or other identification object encoding a unique identifier for that custom appliance. The incorporation of management ID into the custom appliance can permit cloud management system 104 to directly configure, manage, store and track the custom appliance.

After building, the cloud management system 104 can determine a charge for the building and/or instantiating the custom appliance in cloud 102. The charge for building the appliance can be based on an individual charge for each software module included in the custom appliance.

Additionally, the cloud management system 104 can base the charge for the custom appliance on the instantiation of the custom appliance in the cloud 102. As such, the cloud management system 104 can track the utilization of the custom appliance in order to determine the charge. For example, the management engine 118 can track such data as the duration the custom appliance is instantiated in the cloud 102, the time period that the custom appliance is instantiated (peak or off-peak times), and the computing resources consumed by the custom appliance (number of resource servers, computing cycles, bandwidth, memory usage, storage usage). To track the usage, the management engine 128 can communicate with the cloud 102 via network 106 to monitor the virtual machines 116.

For the instantiation charge, the cloud management system 104 can determine a fee or charge for the virtual machines 116 instantiated in the cloud 102 based on the tracked usage. For example, the cloud management system 104 can base the fee for each individual virtual machines 116 on the instantiation time, such as hours instantiated, of each virtual machine 116. Additionally, the cloud management system 104 can base the fee of the amount of resources utilized by each individual virtual machine 116. For example, the cloud management system 104 can base the fees on computing resources, for instance computer cycles, bandwidth, memory utilization, storage utilization, consumed by a virtual machine 116. Likewise, the cloud management system 104 can base the fee on a combination of instantiation time and consumed computing resources.

Additionally, the cloud management system 104 can base the fees charged on the time period in which the each virtual machine 116 is instantiated. For example, the cloud management system can charge different rates for peak time periods (e.g. time periods when the cloud 102 is heavily utilized) and off-peak time periods. Likewise, the cloud management system 104 can base the fee on a combination of the tracked time period, the tracked instantiation time and the consumed computing resources.

In order to determine the charge, in embodiments, the cloud management system 104 can maintain a list of rates for individual components, the various usages, such as instantiation duration, computing resources consumed, and instantiation time period. Additionally, the cloud management system 104 can maintain a list of discounts available based on the usage of the cloud 102. For example, the cloud management system 104 can maintain a list of discounts for volume usage of the cloud computing environment or reduced rates based on the amount of usage by the user. The cloud management system 104 can maintain the list of rates and discounts in cloud management store 126. To determine the fees, the cloud management system 104 can retrieve the list of rates and calculate the charges based on the individual components or the tracked usage.

In embodiments, the cloud management system 104 can bill the user 112 for the charges associated with building and/or instantiating the virtual appliance. The cloud management system 104 can initiate a payment process, via any electronic or physical payment process, for the extracted fees. For example, the management engine 118 can generate a bill to be transmitted to user 112 or can initiate automatic payment if the user 112 has provided payment information. The cloud management system 104 can perform the billing process on-demand or in a periodic manner.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary diagram of hardware and other resources that can be incorporated in a cloud management system 104 configured to communicate with instantiated virtual machines 116 and the user 112 via one or more networks 106, according to embodiments. In embodiments as shown, cloud management system 104 can comprise a processor 130 communicating with memory 132, such as electronic random access memory, operating under control of or in conjunction with operating system 136. Operating system 136 can be, for example, a distribution of the Linux™ operating system, the Unix™ operating system, or other open-source or proprietary operating system or platform. Processor 130 also communicates with cloud management store 126, such as a database stored on a local hard drive. Processor 130 further communicates with network interface 134, such as an Ethernet or wireless data connection, which in turn communicates with one or more networks 106, such as the Internet or other public or private networks. Processor 138 also communicates with cloud management store 120 and management engine 118, to execute control logic and control the operation of virtual machines and other resources in cloud 102. Other configurations of cloud management system 104, associated network connections, and other hardware and software resources are possible.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flow diagram of overall appliance building in a cloud environment, according to embodiments of the present teachings. In 502, processing can begin. In 504, cloud management system 104 can receive a request to build a custom appliance. The request can be received from a customer, administrator, or other user.

In 506, the cloud management system 104 can provide a list of available software modules to the user. In 508, the cloud management system 104 can receive the user's specification and configuration information for the custom appliance. This can include the software modules selected by the user and configuration information for the completed appliance.

Then, in 510, the cloud management system 104 can build the appliance based on the user's specification and configuration information. For example, the cloud management system 104 can retrieve the selected software modules and combine the software modules. Then, in 512, the cloud management system 104 can instantiate the custom appliance in the cloud 102.

After building, in 514, the cloud management system 104 can determine and bill the user for the charges associated with the custom appliance. The cloud management system 104 can perform the billing process on-demand or in a periodic manner.

Then, in 518, if the cloud 102 terminates, the process can end, but the process can return to any point and repeat.

In the foregoing and other embodiments, the user making an instantiation request or otherwise accessing the cloud network can be a person, customer, subscriber, corporation, organization, or other entity. In embodiments, the user can be or include another virtual machine, application or process. In further embodiments, multiple users or entities can share the use of a set of virtual machines or other resources.

While the invention has been described with reference to the exemplary embodiments thereof, those skilled in the art will be able to make various modifications to the described embodiments without departing from the true spirit and scope. The terms and descriptions used herein are set forth by way of illustration only and are not meant as limitations. In particular, although the method has been described by examples, the steps of the method maybe performed in a different order than illustrated or simultaneously. Those skilled in the art will recognize that these and other variations are possible within the spirit and scope as defined in the following claims and their equivalents. 

1. A method of building an appliance in a cloud computing environment, comprising: maintaining a repository of software modules in the cloud computing environment; receiving a request to build a software appliance, the request including a set of the software modules to be included in the software appliance; and building the software appliance based on the request, wherein the software appliance comprises the set of software modules and portions of an operating system necessary to provide an execution platform for the set of software modules.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising instantiating the software appliance the the cloud computing environment.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of the software modules comprises at least one of the operating system and an application.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the request comprises: receiving configuration information for the software appliance.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the cloud computing environment comprises a set of resource servers configured to deliver resources to instantiate the software appliance.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining a charge associated with building the software appliance.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the charge is based on at least one of a charge for the set of software modules or a charge for instantiation of the software appliance.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the charge for instantiation of the software appliance is based on at least one of a time period for the software appliance, a duration of the software appliance, or a resource usage of the software appliance.
 9. A system for building an appliance in a cloud computing environment, comprising: a network interface to at least one virtual machine in a cloud computing environment; and a cloud management module, communicating with the network interface, the cloud management module being configured to— maintain a repository of software modules in the cloud computing environment; receive a request to build an software appliance, the request including a set of the software modules to be included in the software appliance; and build the software appliance based on the request, wherein the software appliance comprises the set of software modules and portions of an operating system necessary to provide an execution platform for the set of software modules.
 10. The system of claim 9, the cloud management module being further configured to— instantiate the software appliance the the cloud computing environment.
 11. The system of claim 9, wherein the set of the software modules comprises at least one of the operating system and an application.
 12. The system of claim 9, wherein receiving the request comprises: receiving configuration information for the software appliance.
 13. The system of claim 9, wherein the cloud computing environment comprises a set of resource servers configured to deliver resources to instantiate the software appliance.
 14. The system of claim 9, the cloud management module being further configured to— determine a charge associated with building the software appliance.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the charge is based on at least one of a charge for the set of software modules or a charge for instantiation of the software appliance.
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein the charge for instantiation of the software appliance is based on at least one of a time period for the software appliance, a duration of the software appliance, or a resource usage of the software appliance.
 17. A software appliance, the software appliance being built in a cloud computing environment by a method comprising: maintaining a repository of software modules in the cloud computing environment; receiving a request to build an software appliance, the request including a set of the software modules to be included in the software appliance; and building the software appliance based on the request, wherein the software appliance comprises the set of software modules and portions of an operating system necessary to provide an execution platform for the set of software modules.
 18. The software appliance of claim 17, further comprising instantiating the software appliance the the cloud computing environment.
 19. The software appliance of claim 17, wherein the set of the software modules comprises at least one of the operating system and an application.
 20. The software appliance of claim 17, wherein receiving the request comprises: receiving configuration information for the software appliance.
 21. The software appliance of claim 17, wherein the cloud computing environment comprises a set of resource servers configured to deliver resources to instantiate the software appliance.
 22. The software appliance of claim 17, further comprising: determining a charge associated with building the software appliance.
 23. The software appliance of claim 22, wherein the charge is based on at least one of a charge for the set of software modules or a charge for instantiation of the software appliance.
 24. The software appliance of claim 23, wherein the charge for instantiation of the software appliance is based on at least one of a time period for the software appliance, a duration of the software appliance, or a resource usage of the software appliance. 